


Dancing With Mr D

by Kribu



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-29
Updated: 2011-01-29
Packaged: 2017-10-15 05:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/157275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kribu/pseuds/Kribu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valkyrie has a friend to save. Please note: takes place after Mortal Coil. Spoilers for Mortal Coil, and I don't mean teeny tiny spoilers, but entire-book-spoiling-type spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to refya and JunoMagic for betaing this for me!
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters, settings, or basically anything you recognise are not mine. They belong to the amazing Derek Landy. I make no money from this. I didn't even come up with the title - that has been nicked from the Rolling Stones song by the same name.

Valkyrie Cain was standing at the very edge of the pier, her back turned to the road. Her arms were crossed and the wind played with her hair. The waves, deceptively calm and smooth in the distance, were kicking against the pier. She could feel the vibrations even through the soles of her boots.

She heard a car approach, then stop. Footsteps came closer, their rhythm familiar to her ears.

"I've been thinking about Tanith," she said when she knew he was close enough to hear her. She still didn't turn around. He wasn't going to like what she had to say. "And I think I know what to do."

"Valkyrie…" Skulduggery's voice was soft. "We've been over this before."

"Yes, we have. And I've been reading enough about this to know that there is no way to push the Remnant out of a living host after they've been possessed for so long. A _living_ host, Skulduggery. That's what they all specify. You know it as well as I do – the Remnant cannot survive in a dead body."

Skulduggery was silent for a moment.

"No." He stepped closer, until he was facing Valkyrie. "I know what you're saying and no, we're not going to do that."

"I don't mean that we should kill Tanith."

"I know what you mean. You're thinking about Nye. And I'm saying no."

Valkyrie sighed. "I wasn't thinking about Nye, actually. I have no more desire to have anything further to do with Nye than you do. I was just thinking that… I died when I stepped into the Dullahan's carriage." She looked up at Skulduggery. "I was quite dead before I even reached Nye."

"No."

"Just think about it! All we'd need to do is to get Tanith on board the Coach-a-Bowers, and the Remnant would be forced out. And everyone in the carriage is dead – even if the Remnant survived, somehow, it wouldn't have a new host to cling to. We wouldn't be putting anyone else in danger."

"No."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "I remember when you used to dazzle me with your vocabulary. What's happened to it today?"

Skulduggery pushed his hands deeper into the pockets of his long coat and gazed at the sea. "I'm saying no because it's something I've thought about. Months ago, in fact. It was one of the options I considered first, right after it happened. And I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not? As plans go, this one sounds quite decent. Better than most we've usually had."

"It's too risky. I've cheated death before. You've been dead and came back. People don't get this kind of luck more than once in their life, Valkyrie. If we were to go with Tanith, and we really would need to accompany her, there's no guarantee that we would be allowed to walk away unharmed or alive – or as alive as either of us can be considered to be."

Valkyrie sighed. Skulduggery was a lot of things, but no one could ever have mistaken him for a coward. There had to be a way to get through to him.

"So you're not willing to take the risk. I know you've been acting different since Lord Vile's return, but… How many times has Tanith risked her life for you or me? She was there for me, every step of the way, when you were gone and I had to find a way to get that portal opened. Without her, you would still be there."

"A fair point," Skulduggery admitted. "But it's still too risky. Not everyone who has been possessed for even a few hours has survived. There's a good chance that the Remnant has become so tightly fused with Tanith's mind that forcing it out will kill her. Not kill her temporarily but for good."

Valkyrie kicked at a pebble, watching as it hit the waves and wobbled for a moment before sinking.

"I'll do it on my own, then. I owe it to Tanith to try. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. The Tanith I know would never want to live the rest of her life as that— that _thing_ inside her. And if I die, well… At least that spares the world from Darquesse."

"Don't be silly."

He looked as expressionless as always, but something in the way he tilted his head told Valkyrie that she had won. This had been almost too easy. She wondered idly whether he'd only argued against her plan to make sure that she'd considered it from all angles.

She was sure they hadn't even begun to scratch the surface, never mind covering all the angles, but that didn't matter. She had a plan, and she had Skulduggery at her side, and Tanith would be saved.

* * *

"Arrangements have to be made," Skulduggery said, leaning against a bookcase in Gordon's study. "For most people, the journey in the Dullahan's carriage is final. There is no return. When you were taken to Nye, there was a purpose to your journey – a purpose other than simply dying. If you haven't arranged it beforehand, I don't think there is necessarily a way back to this world."

Valkyrie nodded. "Nye had some sort of deal with the Dullahan, I think. Nye spoke to him, promised that it wouldn't keep me there. I assume that was because I was there before my time."

"What we need to do first is to find out whether the Dullahan always delivers the dead to Nye," Skulduggery continued. "You may be right and we won't need to meet it, and I dearly hope we won't, but – there is research to be done first. If the dead get taken somewhere else as well, then where? And is there a way back? Or is Nye's warehouse the only place in between our world and death?"

"I still think we should just ask Gordon," Valkyrie said. "He might not be happy about the plan, but I've been in mortal danger before. And we need all the knowledge we can get."

"But where's the fun in it if we simply ask him without even trying to do some research first, to find out the answers on our own?"

"Research and fun shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence," Valkyrie muttered. She favoured the direct approach. Asking her dead uncle's echo had always been the most convenient way of finding things out. "Besides, your idea of research is going to China's library and asking her. I don't see how that's any different."

"China is much prettier than Gordon."

Valkyrie stuck her tongue out at him. Childish, perhaps, but satisfying.

"We can go to the library and look around first," Skulduggery offered. "And then we can come back here and ask Gordon. I don't think we should ask China anything too obvious anyway, although if I do the asking, it should be safe."

"Are you going to tell Ghastly?"

Skulduggery shrugged lightly. "I have to, I think. Some of it anyway. We might need his help in capturing Tanith. How are we going to do that, by the way? "

Valkyrie sighed. "I don't know yet. But finding her should be easy enough. We just have to wait until she decides to drop by my home to taunt me again."

"It would be much easier if she had a schedule for those visits," Skulduggery said. "Tuesday nights, every other week, for example. But if she comes by again unannounced… I don't think it would be a good idea for you to try and take her down on your own, especially when Sanguine is likely to lurk close by."

Valkyrie had to admit that Skulduggery was right. As much as she missed training with Tanith, her continued lessons with Skulduggery had made sure she was stronger and faster than ever, but she couldn't even begin to expect to take Tanith down in a fight. And she didn't _want_ to hurt Tanith – while Tanith, or rather the Remnant in her, would have no such qualms about hurting her.

"We might be able to organise some sort of ambush," Skulduggery said. "Ghastly will need to be involved anyway. He wouldn't forgive either of us if we went ahead with this without his knowledge and got ourselves or Tanith killed."

Valkyrie nodded. Again, Skulduggery had a point.

"He'll be a lot of help," Skulduggery added. "The difficulty will be in convincing him not to accompany us all the way to death and back."

"Yeah. I mean, I'd love to have him with us, but he might realise I've been through this particular experience before, and…"

"…and you don't want him to know you've had your name sealed, or that, indeed, you know your true name."

"That's pretty much it, yes."

"You haven't told Fletcher either, have you?"

"No." Telling Fletcher was not something Valkyrie planned to do any time soon. Her relationship with Fletcher was currently the only light-hearted, fun, easy thing in her life, and informing her boyfriend that she might turn into the embodiment of evil, bent on destroying the world, was not something she wanted to do. No matter how guilty she sometimes felt, keeping something of this magnitude from him.

Skulduggery nodded. "Fair enough. I should probably tell you that the longer you keep this from him, the worse the possible consequences – but I can certainly see why you don't want to tell him. I'm glad you told me, though."

Valkyrie smiled. "I'm glad, too. Not that I could have kept it from you for much longer anyway. You can always tell when something's wrong, it seems."

"So, we cannot involve Fletcher in the whole plan either," Skulduggery mused. "And the less China knows, the better. That leaves just you and me."

A few steps took Skulduggery across the room, to another bookcase. As he browsed the titles, he said, his tone carefully casual: "You know, of course, that Tanith knows about Darquesse. I don't mean the Remnant in Tanith, but Tanith herself. She found out shortly before she was possessed."

Valkyrie blanched. This was not something that had occurred to her, and she'd never asked for details of what had happened while the Remnant was inside her.

"And another thing – Sanguine knows, too. I can only assume that so far, it's suited him not to spread the word around. If we manage to save Tanith – or even if we don't, but succeed in taking her away from Sanguine…"

"Do you think Tanith will remember anything?"

Skulduggery shrugged. "There is no way to know. In most of the documented cases, the possessed people don't remember anything of the time they were possessed – and sometimes also not much from the time immediately preceding the possession. You are an obvious exception, but then, you also managed to force the Remnant out on your own. But every such case deals with short-term possession. With Tanith… Well. The Remnant has spent such a long time with her that even if your plan, crazy and impossible as it is, works, she may remember everything. Or nothing at all."

"If she does remember, I don't think she'd tell anyone." Valkyrie was sure of that. Almost.

"She might not. What about Sanguine, though?"

"Would anyone believe Sanguine?"

"Good question. Maybe not. But it's something I suggest you keep in mind."

* * *

Coming up with a plan to capture Tanith was the easy part. Skulduggery's suggestion was for him and Ghastly to take turns in keeping watch over Valkyrie's home until the next time Tanith showed up again, and then overpower Tanith, alert Fletcher to teleport in, take Tanith to a secured and bound room in Ghastly's basement and teleport out again.

Neither Ghastly nor Fletcher knew about the plan yet, but Valkyrie had no doubt that they would agree to help. The only problem would be keeping the rest of the plan from them, but they'd cross that hurdle once they came to it.

The rest of the planning wasn't nearly as straightforward.

"It's not really my area of expertise," admitted Echo-Gordon when Skulduggery finally agreed to ask him. "I didn't even know about Doctor Nye – and I must say, I'm very sad Gordon never came across him in his research! Can you _imagine_ what a brilliant tale of horror I – he – could have written, had he known about him? Cutting people up and removing their innards, having the gutless dead walk around with their hearts in plastic bags… Oh, the potential that there would have been!"

Valkyrie winced. Telling Echo-Gordon about her ordeal in detail had not been the best idea.

Skulduggery's private inquiries had yielded no results either, as he admitted, slumping into his favourite armchair after yet another day of fruitless research.

"Even the people who _should_ know are keeping their mouths shut," he grumbled. "I tried to, ah, persuade some of them to talk, but charm didn't work. Neither did blackmail nor direct threats. Either they really didn't know, or they're too afraid to talk about it."

China had informed them that to the best of her knowledge, while Nye's warehouse was indeed not the Dullahan's only destination, it was the only place where one could just step outside and live again. She'd sent Valkyrie a curious look, which she had tried to ignore, but she had an uncomfortable feeling that China was too close to guessing the truth. At least the truth about Valkyrie having her name sealed, if not the truth about the name itself.

Every book they'd come across said the same.

Valkyrie stared into her mug of tea, which had long since gone cold. The signs were clear: they would have to go through Nye's warehouse again. No other way about it.

"It's not too late to change your mind." There was a hint of concern in Skulduggery's voice.

"No." She'd bested Nye before, and she'd been on her own then. With Skulduggery at her side, she didn't have to worry. Did she?

"Very well."

Skulduggery got up and went to a chest of drawers. "There is something I promised to give you a while ago, and never did. It may be time I did something about that."

"My Christmas present?" She hadn't asked about it again, and with everything that had happened immediately after Christmas, it had really slipped her mind for a while, but not getting a present from him after everything she'd been through had hurt. Not that she'd told him that.

Skulduggery hesitated. "Well, I'd rather call it your 17th of July present."

"That's today."

"Indeed it is."

"Why is today so special that I should get a present?"

"It's a lovely, sunny day."

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. Skulduggery tilted his head. "Do you want your present or not?"

"That depends on the present. Is it something I'd like?"

"I think so."

"Okay then."

Valkyrie was curious. She was almost certain that this was the Christmas present she hadn't got. She wondered what made Skulduggery change his mind (and not just wait for the next Christmas).

The package that Skulduggery picked out from the drawer was small and nondescript in shape, looking mostly like a short tube of some sort.

And it was wrapped in paper with little snowmen on it.

She rolled her eyes and took the package from Skulduggery's outstretched hand. It was heavy; heavier than it had looked.

She tore off the paper.

"Is this…?"

"It's a stick." Skulduggery's voice was smug.

"A stick."

"A stick. I promised you a stick, and here it is."

Valkyrie eyed the grey tube doubtfully. "It's a very short stick."

Skulduggery took the tube from her, held it horizontally and pressed a slight indentation in the middle of it. A moment of blur later, he was holding a long staff, both ends tapering off gradually.

"Wow."

"I know. My presents are always amazing."

Valkyrie took the staff and weighed it in her hand. It was perfectly balanced, nice and sturdy. A real weapon. She jabbed Skulduggery lightly on the arm with it.

"Ordinarily I'd say I hate you, and mean it, but this _is_ amazing. Thank you."

"If there is any kind of trouble ahead… You said elemental magic didn't work there. I know you have your ring, but it would make me feel better to know that Necromancy wasn't the only thing you'd have to rely on. It's too dangerous, using death magic in the realm of death itself."

Valkyrie shrugged. Talking about her Necromancy with Skulduggery still made her uncomfortable. She knew he had a point, but… In any case, having an extra weapon would certainly be handy, at other times as well.

"You need to practice using it," Skulduggery said. "We can start with the training today, if you wish."

"You can use one of these?"

"Of course I can."

She grinned, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. In the grand scale of things, it may have been just a tiny matter, but Skulduggery's thoughtfulness combined with something as tangible as the staff… She just _knew_ that their plan really would work, and that they'd come out alive.

She found the button to collapse the staff again and tucked it inside her jacket. "I'm looking forward to using this."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to refya and JunoMagic for betaing this for me!
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters, settings, or basically anything you recognise are not mine. They belong to the amazing Derek Landy. I make no money from this. I didn't even come up with the title - that has been nicked from the Rolling Stones song by the same name.

Skulduggery had pulled some strings and made some phone calls and assured Valkyrie that once they had Tanith, they'd be guaranteed seats on the Coach-a-Bowers. Valkyrie didn't ask whom he'd talked to; she had other things to worry about.

"What we're not guaranteed is a safe return," Skulduggery said. He was half-sitting, half-lounging on the window sill in Valkyrie's room, his long legs dangling over the edge, and looked utterly comfortable. "Once we're there, it's up to us to make our way out. However, since we don't really _need_ Nye, and thus have no need to let it cut us up, and there are two of us, I doubt there will be any problems. Even if Nye is a sick, twisted freak."

"And even if it holds a grudge after I hurt it," Valkyrie muttered.

"Even so, yes. It was alone, wasn't it?"

"I think so… To be honest, I didn't pay that much attention to my surroundings. It was difficult to focus on anything."

Skulduggery nodded. "It's something we have to take into account. At least we know how being dead affected you – and we also know that you have enough sheer determination to pull through it. We don't know how it will affect me, seeing as I'm dead already. If we're lucky, and I'm rather counting on that, I will be as unstoppable and awesome as always."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "And if we're not lucky, you'll be a walking skeleton zombie."

Or worse, her mind added. She ignored that thought. She didn't want to think about how entering the realm of death could affect someone already dead. He'd be dead twice. Would leaving bring him back to life? Back to being a living skeleton? Could he even leave at all?

She didn't want to ask Skulduggery if he'd thought about those other possibilities.

"I'll talk to Ghastly," Skulduggery said. "I think it's time to put the plan in action. I'll leave Fletcher to you."

* * *

"You have a plan." Ghastly stared at Skulduggery, not believing his ears. "A plan to save Tanith."

"Yes."

"It's not possible."

Skulduggery looked at him. "It may not work. There's a good chance that she may not survive."

"But there is a chance that she will?"

"Yes. It's never been done before, so it's hard to be sure, but it's a pretty good plan."

"But you're not going to tell me what the plan involves."

"I'm afraid not, no."

"Is it your plan?"

"Valkyrie's, in fact. But it's a pretty good plan."

"Oddly enough, that fills me with more confidence. Why doesn't Val want you to tell me the details?"

"You'd have to ask her that. Don't expect her to give you an answer, though. All I can say is that I know her reasons, and that it's not my secret to tell. Also, two people will be more than enough to carry out the secret part of the plan. We only need your help in capturing Tanith. I mean, I could do that on my own, but we don't want to harm her too much, and it would be better if you were there, too. Just in case Sanguine is hanging around."

Ghastly winced. He'd heard that Tanith was usually seen together with Sanguine. It was not something he liked to dwell on.

"Also, we need to use the room in your basement. We may need to keep Tanith secured for a few hours – no more than a day or two – before we can proceed with the next stage."

"I'll get the room set up and bound. I don't think we can make it Sanguine-proof, but if it's only for a short time…"

"We can just stay down there and keep watch, yes."

"Fair enough."

A chance to get Tanith back. Ghastly's heart leapt.

* * *

Fletcher was not happy about being excluded. He didn't actually say anything, which Valkyrie was glad about, but he didn't need to. His sulking made it more than obvious.

"I'm sorry, Fletcher," she said after a few moments. "I wish I could tell you more, but… It's something you can't help with, anyway."

"But Skulduggery can."

"Well, yes."

Fletcher shrugged. "Whatever. I'm in, of course."

"Thanks." Valkyrie stepped closer and pulled him into a hug. Experience had told her that with Fletcher, a good snog was usually enough to put an end to the sulking. As usual, she was right.

* * *

Valkyrie had been a bit worried that having her home watched would keep Tanith away. Skulduggery assured her that Tanith would never even realise there was anyone there, and after a few days, Valkyrie had to admit he was right – he and Ghastly were obviously very good at this sort of thing.

Working out the schedule had taken a while, but based on her previous experience, they'd eventually agreed that Tanith was most likely to turn up when Valkyrie was home. Valkyrie only hoped that her parents and baby sister would be out at the time; the last thing she wanted was a fight on her doorstep when her family was in.

When Tanith did finally turn up, luck was on their side. Desmond Edgley had gone to work, and Valkyrie's mum had taken baby Rachel out for some fresh air.

* * *

She had come alone.

Valkyrie stood at the front door and made a show of looking around. "No psycho boyfriend with you today?" she asked, making sure her voice was loud enough.

"Don't tell me – you're missing Billy-Ray," Tanith said, her voice heavy with mockery. "He's busy today. Work to do, people to kill, you know."

Valkyrie sighed. "Why are you here? I mean, I've been asking you this every time, but I still don't _get_ it. Don't you have anything better to do?"

She kept her gaze on Tanith, but from the corner of her eye, she spied some movement behind her. Skulduggery was sneaking closer, making no sound, with Ghastly not far behind. With nothing else to occupy their time today, they'd both been keeping watch this time. They'd decided not to alert Fletcher until Tanith was captured and secured; a phone call could have been overheard.

"Oh, but it's _fun_ to come around for a little chat now and then." Tanith smirked.

Valkyrie wished she could wipe that smug smile off her face. She wanted her friend back. Their plan had to work. It just had to.

A skeletal hand emerged from behind Tanith, tapping her lightly on the shoulder. Ghastly was standing a little further away. It was clear from his stance that he was ready to jump into action any moment.

"Hello!" Skulduggery's voice was cheery. "It's been a while, hasn't it? So… Still evil?"

Tanith whipped around, her hand snapping at Skulduggery's neck in a blur, but Skulduggery had been waiting for the attack and had already moved away. He pushed at the air, sending Tanith flying – right to where Ghastly was waiting for her. Ghastly wrenched Tanith into a choking hold with one arm and locked her arms behind her with the other.

Tanith struggled, kicking back with her heels and trying to wriggle out of Ghastly's hold, but Ghastly was too strong for her.

Skulduggery strolled over, a pair of handcuffs dangling from his fingers. A moment later, Tanith's hands were securely fastened.

Valkyrie blinked. The whole thing had taken perhaps a minute. Maybe even less. She'd expected bloodshed.

"A life of evil doesn't suit you," Skulduggery mused. "You've gone all soft. You didn't even hear us sneak up on you, did you?"

Tanith spat at him. Black lines were spreading out on her face, turning it into a horrifying caricature.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked. There was a spot of spittle in the corner of her mouth. "You're still not dreaming of 'rescuing' your dear friend, are you? It's not going to happen. I'm Tanith, and Tanith is me. And if you put me in a cell, well… My boyfriend may still not be in perfect shape thanks to our friend Darquesse here, but he can dig his way in if needed."

Ghastly's eyes widened. Valkyrie felt faint. She put her hand on the door jamb, to avoid losing balance.

Tanith smiled. It was not a pretty sight. "Oh, don't tell me you hadn't told Ghastly yet, Val. Hmm. I wonder who else doesn't know. Your pretty, if pathetic boyfriend, maybe? Where is he, by the way? Have you dumped him for the vampire at last?"

"None of your business."

Skulduggery pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket, together with a piece of tape. "I think you've said enough. I really hope you don't have a cold – wouldn't want you to suffocate to death."

He put the gag on Tanith, keeping a watchful eye on Ghastly at the same time.

"I think we need to have a chat later," Ghastly said quietly. He looked over at Valkyrie. The wariness in his face was more than she could take, so she closed her eyes.

"Yes. Later," Skulduggery said. "I think we should get Fletcher now. Valkyrie?"

"What? Oh. Right."

She took out her phone and dialled Fletcher's number. "We have Tanith. Can you come over now?" It was a struggle to keep her voice calm, but somehow she managed. Ghastly would understand. He wouldn't tell anyone else. And Fletcher… Fletcher didn't have to know. Skulduggery had made sure of that. They only had to keep Tanith gagged for a few hours.

* * *

Skulduggery walked in, phone still in hand. "We have a rendezvous with the Dullahan at exactly half past nine," he informed Valkyrie. "The place is just outside Dublin. I know where it is; it'll take us maybe half an hour to drive there, so we should leave just before nine. That leaves us with," he checked his watch, "four hours of keeping Tanith safe. And quiet."

Valkyrie massaged her temples. "Right. So… I suppose we should have a chat with Ghastly."

"It can wait. We can tell him once we're back. If we succeed, he might take it better."

"He hasn't said a word to me since we got Tanith."

"I'm sure he'll have plenty to say to you once he's got over the shock."

"That doesn't sound very encouraging, you know."

"It doesn't? Oh."

"Maybe I should just go and talk to him."

Skulduggery shook his head. "He needs some time. He already knows that I know, so once he's thought about it for a while, he'll realise that it cannot be all bad. "

"Okay."

Skulduggery crouched down next to where she was sitting. "It will be all right."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Valkyrie smiled in spite of herself. "You've said that before. You still don't have a heart, you know."

"And I'm already dead. Although I suppose that technically, we're almost even there."

"Are you going to tell Ghastly now where we're going? Now that he knows the worst of it already?"

"I don't think so. He'd just worry. And insist on coming with us. And I'm afraid I only booked us three seats in the carriage."

"Okay. Good."

Skulduggery stood up again. "You should get something to eat. You'll need your strength. And I need to go and gather up some supplies, and then I'll go down and see how Ghastly is getting on with Tanith."

"I'm not sure I can eat much."

"You don't have to eat much. Just as long as you eat something."

"I've never known you to be this fussy about my eating habits."

He tilted his head slightly. "We've also never actually made preparations for walking straight into death."

"So it's some kind of an old soldier belief or something? Don't die on an empty stomach?"

"Something like that, yes."

Valkyrie got up, too. "I don't feel like raiding Ghastly's cupboards; not today. I might go out and get some chips, maybe."

Skulduggery nodded. "Try not to get kidnapped. And don't stay out long. Sanguine's out there, somewhere. We don't know if he's noticed yet that his girlfriend is missing."

Valkyrie shuddered. "Ugh. I really don't want to think about Sanguine and Tanith together. She'll be horrified when she finds out."

"Quite likely, yes."

She wondered for a moment whether she should phone Fletcher. She did have time, and she could think of ways to spend what might well be her final hours… Skulduggery would understand – especially if she made sure to let him know she hadn't been kidnapped. But in the end, she decided against it. She'd already almost had an argument with Fletcher over this whole thing, and Fletcher had left immediately after taking Tanith and Ghastly to Ghastly's basement room. He wouldn't be in the mood for anything anyway.

Chips in the little place around the corner it was, then.

* * *

Valkyrie made her way down to the basement at about quarter to nine. Skulduggery was there with Ghastly, leaning against the wall, his hands crossed over his chest. There was a tense silence between the two men. Valkyrie felt a pang of guilt – the last thing she wanted to do was to put their friendship at risk.

When Skulduggery had first told Ghastly about their plan, he had a sturdy cage installed in the room. Tanith was standing in the middle of the cage, her mouth still gagged and her eyes burning with hatred. Her hands were cuffed behind her back and Valkyrie noticed shackles around her feet, too.

It hurt to see her friend like that. She could only hope that Tanith wouldn't remember this part, once she was safe again.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered if they were doing the right thing. If the plan didn't work… She looked again at the woman she'd come to see as her big sister. There was nothing left of the Tanith she knew in her face now, but during some of their unwanted meetings, she'd seen a glimpse of something else in her eyes. Tanith. Imprisoned in her own mind. She'd never choose a life like this. Valkyrie was ready to bet her head on that.

Skulduggery looked over to Valkyrie. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Let's get going then." He stepped closer to the cage, motioning to Ghastly to give him the key. Once the door was unlocked, and he'd made sure that Ghastly and Valkyrie were on his sides, keeping their eyes on Tanith, he pulled a short piece of chain out of a pocket and attached one end to Tanith's handcuffs.

He fished out another pair of handcuffs (Valkyrie wondered how many pairs he had stuffed in his pockets) and attached the other end of the chain to one of them, fastening the cuff around his own wrist. He was taking no chances.

He checked the handcuffs and shackles. Obviously satisfied with the results, he said, "Come along, then."

Tanith glared at him but did as she was told. Valkyrie wondered if she would be foolish enough to try and escape. She wouldn't get very far.

"We'll let you know once we're done," Skulduggery said, activating his façade. "We might need to be picked up."

Ghastly nodded, not saying anything. His eyes were fixed on Tanith.

Skulduggery led them upstairs and out. "Do you have everything?" he asked Valkyrie. She had to think for a moment, but then realised he must have meant the staff, and nodded. It was probably a good idea not to mention any specific weapons they might have on them in Tanith's presence.

Once outside, Skulduggery looked around quickly to check if anyone was watching. The street was deserted, in spite of the evening being warm and lovely.

"I can take over," Valkyrie suggested, realising that it might be difficult for Skulduggery to drive while being chained to their captive – especially one who was likely to try and do everything in her power to distract him from his task. Skulduggery seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he didn't argue.

"Get in," Valkyrie said. Tanith stood still for a moment, her posture defiant, but when Skulduggery made a show of reaching for his gun, she rolled her eyes and got into the Bentley.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to refya and JunoMagic for betaing this for me!
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters, settings, or basically anything you recognise are not mine. They belong to the amazing Derek Landy. I make no money from this. I didn't even come up with the title - that has been nicked from the Rolling Stones song by the same name.

Skulduggery parked the Bentley in a small clearing off the main road, out of sight. They got out of the car, and Valkyrie removed Tanith's gag.

"Do you need something to drink?" asked Skulduggery, watching them intently.

Tanith tried to reply, but ended up nodding. Valkyrie guessed her mouth and throat must be dry and sore after wearing the gag for hours.

Skulduggery went back to the Bentley and fetched a thermos. He unscrewed the top that served as a cup and poured something into it. "Tea. Should still be hot but not hot enough to burn," he explained, when Valkyrie sent him a questioning look.

He took the cup to Tanith, holding it while tipping the contents carefully into her mouth.

"So… What are your plans for me?" Tanith asked after a few sips, her voice hoarse. "I doubt you went into all that trouble just to bring me here for a picnic."

"Not quite, no," said Valkyrie. Skulduggery took the cup and the thermos back to the car. "We're waiting for our ride here."

"I'm afraid you will have to die," Skulduggery added. "But don't worry. It will be painless. Probably." He looked towards Valkyrie. "I'm right, yes? No agonising pain?"

"It's just like going to sleep," Valkyrie said. "Nothing to worry about."

Tanith looked from one to the other.

"You're mad. Both of you. I mean, I know Skulduggery's always had this in him, but Val… Or is this Darquesse taking over at last?" She grinned suddenly. "It is, isn't it? Oh, but you don't need to kill me. I'll be worshipping at your feet!"

Valkyrie shook her head. "You just don't get it, do you. Darquesse is never going to take over; not if I have anything to say about it. Anyway, you'll find out soon enough."

Skulduggery checked his watch. "We should probably move closer to the road. It's almost time."

They walked slowly towards the road, Valkyrie pulling Tanith after her. Skulduggery was a step behind them. Tanith's shackles made the progress slow, but they didn't have far to go.

* * *

The Coach-a-Bowers was on time. When they saw the headless horses materialise in front of them, Skulduggery turned towards Valkyrie. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly. She could hear the unspoken concern in his voice.

"Ready to go," she answered, keeping her voice steady. She didn't want to step inside the carriage again. What if this time she really did die? But she'd made her choice weeks ago.

"You are joking, yes?" Tanith was eyeing the horses and the carriage with something a lot like fear in her eyes. "This is… I know what this thing is. You can't make me go in there! I'm going to die!"

"Well, yes." Skulduggery gave her a small push. "We did say that you would, didn't we?"

The carriage door was open. Valkyrie took a deep breath, knowing that it would be her last for a while, and stepped in. Tanith, helped along by Skulduggery, came next, and Skulduggery entered last. The other passengers didn't look at them; they didn't even seem to notice they were there.

Skulduggery, whose disguise had disappeared the moment he got on board, sat down next to Valkyrie, with Tanith seated across from them. He looked around. "Good evening!" he said. No one answered.

Valkyrie was already feeling the now familiar effects. Her brain was wrapped in grey fog and she struggled to keep her wits about her. She forced her neck to turn and looked at Skulduggery. A tiny part of her brain registered that Skulduggery was completely alert, his frame tense and his eye sockets focused on Tanith. "Good," she thought to herself.

She tore her eyes off Skulduggery and looked at Tanith. They had expected… what was it that they had expected? It was an effort to remember anything, but it finally came to her. They had expected the Remnant to leave Tanith once she was dead.

Tanith certainly looked dead. Just as dead as everyone else in the carriage, apart from Skulduggery. She was completely immobile and her skin had taken on the same grey tinge that everything and everyone else here had. But there was no sign of the Remnant.

Valkyrie let her body sink back into the seat. She felt nothing, but somehow she knew that this wasn't good. Not what they had planned. But it was so hard to let it matter…

* * *

Skulduggery had reached the same conclusion. He was leaning forward, his long fingers poking and prodding Tanith's face. He took a small torch from his pocket and lit it, using it to examine Tanith's eyes. "Hmm," he muttered. "Not good."

He turned back to Valkyrie. "We may have a problem," he said, keeping his voice low.

Valkyrie didn't answer.

He touched her shoulder and shook her gently. "Valkyrie. Valkyrie Cain! Just listen to me – focus on me. You've been through this and worse before. I know how strong your mind is."

Valkyrie turned her head slightly, looking towards him – past him – with lifeless eyes. "I… Skul? What… Oh. I'm okay. I think. It's hard."

Skulduggery sagged with relief. "I know it's hard. You're doing amazingly well. Keep focusing on me. And on Tanith."

Valkyrie head lolled forward a bit. Skulduggery decided to consider it a nod of agreement.

"We have a problem," he said again. "I think Tanith's dead."

"We all are."

"I think the Remnant – remember, the reason why we're here, all dead, remember? – died with her. And that it's still inside her. It never left."

"Ah."

Skulduggery resisted the temptation to slap Valkyrie. He'd do that later if he had to.

He tried again. "If the Remnant is still inside her, even if dead, then we are in trouble. Valkyrie? Are you following me?"

"Uh… Yeah. I think so." She blinked. "Remnant. Inside Tanith. Bad."

"Succinctly put. Yes."

She turned slightly, this time clearly making an effort to pay attention to him. "Why aren't you dead?"

Skulduggery felt like smiling. He had her back now. "I am dead. But to answer your question, I don't know. I assume that death, here, only affects the people who were alive before."

"Mhm."

"We need a change of plan. Valkyrie, I need you to try and follow what I'm saying. Can you do that?"

"Yeah. Still hard… But getting easier."

"Good. When you told me what happened, you said that Nye was obsessed with finding the soul. I don't like to say this, but I think we may need Nye's help."

Valkyrie closed her eyes. "No."

"Yes. I'm afraid so. We cannot risk taking Tanith back out of here with the Remnant still in her. I'm not even sure she _would_ come back to life, to be honest. She seems, well, very dead. More dead than you. I don't think there is any brain activity left. She's not responding to anything."

"This is bad."

"Yes, it is." Skulduggery reached forward and removed the chain attaching Tanith to Valkyrie. He unlocked her handcuffs but left the shackles around her ankles in place. "I will need to carry her," he explained to Valkyrie. "It's easier this way, but just in case she does miraculously recover, we need to make sure she doesn't escape."

"Why do we need Nye?"

"We need to get the Remnant out. If we don't, I think one of two things will happen: either Tanith remains dead, because there is a dead Remnant inside her, and that cannot possibly be a good thing, or she comes back to life, as does the Remnant. In which case we're back to where we started, just with a more pissed off Tanith."

"Nye will cut her up."

"Yes."

"Nye hates me."

"After what you did to it last time, I'm quite sure it does, yes."

"Nye will kill Tanith."

"Not if I'm holding a gun to its head. Also, I'm relying on its scientific curiosity. We're dealing with a sick, twisted freak, who is undeniably a master of its craft, and a Remnant is the closest thing to a disembodied soul that I can think of. With any luck, the opportunity to study a Remnant and cut it apart will get it curious enough that it won't need too much additional persuasion."

Skulduggery looked at his partner. It was hard to see Valkyrie like this. She was always so full of life. So vibrant. So full of energy. She made him feel more alive. And yet here she was: her skin grey and dull, her eyes devoid of life... It was _wrong_. At least the real Valkyrie was still somewhere inside there. And she'd survived this, and worse, before.

* * *

The carriage stopped. Valkyrie didn't know how long they'd travelled; like on her previous visit here, she had no sense of the passing of time. She briefly considered asking Skulduggery. If his watch still worked here. But the thought fluttered away as soon as it had come, and it was easier to let it go.

Skulduggery was walking beside her, Tanith's limp body slung over his shoulder. Occasionally, he stopped and adjusted his hold on her. Valkyrie didn't know if it was because the burden was too heavy, or because he had to wait for her to catch up. It didn't matter. She found it difficult to walk faster, both because it took effort and because she had a vague feeling she didn't want to go wherever it was they were going.

They reached a door. Skulduggery turned his head and looked at her. "Here?"

Valkyrie looked at the door. She couldn't remember. "I don't know."

Skulduggery raised his hand and prepared to knock, when the door opened.

Doctor Nye stood at the door, looking just as revolting as the last time she'd met it. It took a step back at the sight of them.

"What are _you_ doing back here?" Nye asked. "I did what you wanted, didn't I? Go away. I don't want to see you ever again." It looked up at Skulduggery. "And you've brought your dead friend. I know who you are, Detective. You have no right to be here."

"Doctor Nye. We meet at last." Skulduggery put Tanith down. "To be frank, we are in need of a favour. Our friend here has had an interesting companion for a while. We thought you might appreciate getting a look at it."

Nye eyed Tanith. "It's a… ooh, don't tell me. You've brought me a Remnant!" It hopped up and down for a moment, clapping its hands, but stilled again in a moment. "And you want me to cut up your friend and take it out, yes?"

"Got it in one." Skulduggery's tone was friendly. "I don't know how many Remnants you've had a chance to dissect before, but we were thinking that if anyone could do this, it would be you."

"Oh yes, I can do it." Nye's voice went from excited to cold in a flash. "But I'm not going to. _She_ threatened me." It pointed at Valkyrie. " _She_ hurt me. Why should I help you? What would be in it for me?"

"We could let you keep the Remnant?" Skulduggery offered. "My friend here told me you were interested in where the soul may be. Perhaps studying the Remnant will help?"

Valkyrie shuffled her feet. The fog in her brain was starting to dissipate, little by little. She still had to make a conscious effort to remain focused, but it was easier than before.

"Ha! I've studied Remnants before and found nothing. No, I'm not going to help." Nye turned around and started to close the door behind him, when Skulduggery's arm shot out and took hold of it. His other hand held a gun.

"Is this a more convincing argument?" he asked.

Nye laughed. It was not a pretty sound. "You cannot kill me, Detective. Not here. Your laws don't matter here. I live, everything else is dead; this is how it works."

"Perhaps," Skulduggery conceded. "But I can shoot your kneecaps. You still feel pain, don't you?"

Valkyrie remembered something. Her ring. She brought her hands together in front of her and twisted it around her finger. The coldness of it, drawing its power from the wealth of death around them, gave her strength.

Nye looked down at her hand, then at Skulduggery's gun.

"On second thoughts, I've never yet dissected a Remnant attached to someone who is still in this delicious state of in-between. I've reconsidered. I will help you, of course. Come in!" It made a sweeping gesture, pointing at the door.

* * *

Skulduggery picked Tanith up again and they went in. Nye led them through another door and then another, until they reached a room he recognised from Valkyrie's recount of her previous visit. It was drab and dirty, nothing like any operating room he'd seen before. Even during the war, with battle raging all around them, hundreds of years ago, their makeshift hospital tents had been less cluttered and cleaner.

Nye pointed at the operating table in the middle of the room and Skulduggery laid Tanith down on it.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Nye asked. "I can't operate through her clothes. Take them off."

Skulduggery hesitated. With Valkyrie there, undressing her friend in front of her, even in these circumstances and in spite of him being a skeleton… It was a somewhat awkward situation. He looked at his partner, whose face betrayed no emotion. "Would you prefer to…?"

"What? No, go ahead."

He did as Nye had asked, keeping his movements brisk and businesslike and his attention firmly on Nye. It wasn't as if he had any interest in Tanith anyway. Not because he was a skeleton – he could, and did, still appreciate a shapely female form – but Tanith was not his type. Besides, Ghastly would kill him if he ever found out he'd done even this much.

When he was done, he took a step back, pointing his gun at Nye's knees. Nye didn't seem to be bothered by it. It hummed to itself while picking up a particularly large and vicious looking knife from the instrument tray.

Less than seven months ago, it had been Valkyrie on this table, being cut up. Skulduggery felt sick at the thought. His partner, his best friend… all alone at the mercy of this twisted freak. He risked a quick glance at Valkyrie, whose eyes were glued to the gruesome scene before her. At least there wasn't a lot of blood. Had there been blood when she'd been here?

She had been dead. Her brain and body barely working, fuelled by nothing but her own determination. In mortal danger. Valkyrie hadn't wanted to tell him much about it, and for a long time, he hadn't insisted. Until they started planning for this – he had to know everything that had happened, _everything_. But it wasn't until now that he realised just how determined and strong she'd had to be, and how terrified of her own destiny to go through with it.

He felt a pang of guilt. If she'd trusted him more… She would probably still have done it, but she wouldn't have been alone.

"Hmm," Nye said. "It doesn't seem to be inside the ribcage. Nowhere near the heart." It sounded disappointed. "Oh! The brain. Of course!"

It picked up a saw.

* * *

The Remnant, small and dark and withered, lay on the tray before them. It was very dead. Nye poked at it, but got no reaction.

"You were just in time," it remarked. "Just a little more and it would have infected the brain. Dead Remnants – not good for human brains."

"Neither are living Remnants," Skulduggery muttered.

He had to admit that Nye was very good. Tanith had been sewn up again, and already the stitches were vanishing. She still didn't show any signs of life, but Skulduggery was tentatively hoping that getting back to the world of the living would help with that. People were left unconscious after a Remnant possession even when it had only lasted a few hours. Tanith had lived with the creature inside her for months, and then it had died inside her, too. She was probably in a deep coma… well, here she was dead, of course.

Nye poked some more at the Remnant, sucking at its teeth.

"Unfortunately for you," it said, "your gift is worthless to me. I still found no soul, nor any trace of it. If it's not in the heart, and if it's not in the brain, and if it cannot be found at all in this Remnant here…"

Skulduggery's finger was on the trigger. He saw Valkyrie straighten up across the operating table from him. It was obvious that her every movement, every thought, still took effort, but she had managed to pull Tanith's trousers and tunic back on again.

Nye clicked its long fingers, and the door in the back of the room opened.

"Last time, you caught me unawares," it snarled, eyes, glued at Valkyrie, glaring with hatred. "You used that ring of yours to hurt me. Did you think I'd have forgotten? Did you think I would have let that happen again?"

Skulduggery hesitated, his finger still on the trigger. What was Nye on about? Bluffing? Posturing? Should he shoot now? What were they up against?

"You see, while I was busy helping your friend here," Nye continued, his tone triumphant, "I realised that the answer was staring me right in the face. A dead man. No flesh. No tendons. No internal organs. No brain. No tissue of any kind. Not even an appendix! And yet here he is. Talking. Thinking. _Living._ Nothing but bones – bones, and a soul."

The door was pushed wide open. So was the one through which they had entered. And through both doors, at least half a dozen… things… marched in, all of them armed.

Nye grinned. "Detective Pleasant. I do believe you will be my next patient."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to refya and JunoMagic for betaing this for me!
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters, settings, or basically anything you recognise are not mine. They belong to the amazing Derek Landy. I make no money from this. I didn't even come up with the title - that has been nicked from the Rolling Stones song by the same name.

Nye's words seemed to work as a catalyst for Valkyrie's brain to snap out of the fog. She blinked, laid Tanith, now fully dressed again, back down on the operating table – not like she could have supported her weight anyway – and fingered the staff she kept collapsed in a pocket.

She took in the situation, her mind already weighing the options available to them. It was the two of them, her and Skulduggery, against at least a dozen – whatever these things were. She looked at the ones approaching, slowly but steadily, through the door nearest to them. They looked vaguely human – human-shaped, in any case, but… different. Not like the Hollow Men; these things were solid.

She wondered if her Necromancy would even work against those things. It would be worth a try, no matter how dangerous.

Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery, who was standing very still on the other side of the operating table, gun in hand.

"Skulduggery?" she asked.

He tilted his head at her, but kept his attention at Nye. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid we have to disappoint you. Another time, maybe. You see, we're expected back on the outside, and it's really— Oh, look at the time!"

He raised his hand, as if to look at his watch, but instead, took a clear shot at the creature closest to them. It went down with a heavy thud and stayed there. The others kept advancing, still at the same slow pace, paying no heed to their fallen comrade even as one of them stumbled when stepping over the body.

Clumsy, Valkyrie thought. And can be shot down. She filed the knowledge away carefully.

Nye let out an ugly, high-pitched laugh. Like nails on glass, Valkyrie thought.

"Don't think you can get away that easily, Detective!" it squealed. "You and your little friend here are done. Finished. Outside? You will never get out of here again. And if you think you know what death is, you don't know anything yet."

It grabbed a knife and lunged at Skulduggery, who took a quick step back. Nye fell down on the floor but scrambled back up again, taking another lunge. This time, Skulduggery was waiting for it and met the knife with a block. The force of the collision sent Nye flying through the air. It landed a few metres away on its back and scrambled away into a corner.

"Attack!" it shouted, having obviously come to the realisation that getting the creatures to do its dirty work for it was a better idea than taking on Skulduggery on its own.

It was as if a switch had been turned on. Suddenly there was no sign of the slow, steady stumble, as the creatures attacked from both sides at once.

Skulduggery emptied his gun into their attackers, each shot finding its target. Five more creatures went down, but the other six were on them in an instant.

Valkyrie closed her eyes for a moment. She decided to leave the staff in her pocket for the time being and focused her attention on her ring, drawing on the death surrounding them. It was a powerful, heady feeling – the sort of feeling one could get addicted to. Dangerous. Thrilling. It flowed through her body like electricity, making her feel more alive than she had for a long time.

She took a deep breath, not because she needed to, but to let the familiarity of the action prepare her, and let the shadows loose.

As they surrounded one of the creatures, it disappeared with not even a puff. The shadows sneaked over to the next one, slicing through its body as if it was butter, and took down another one right beside it.

Valkyrie swayed on her feet. She reached out and grabbed the edge of the table, trying to steady herself. Skulduggery was next to her. He'd tucked the now useless gun away and was using one of Nye's knives to keep the rest of the creatures away from them, but they seemed oddly resilient to being stabbed.

"Your staff!" he shouted.

"What?"

"Your staff. Give me your staff. I'll keep them at bay until you've recovered."

There were only three creatures still left, but even so, they were outnumbered by the attackers. Valkyrie fished the staff out, expanded it and waited for the best moment to hand it over. Even that left her exhausted. The drain of using her Necromancy had been worse than she'd anticipated.

Skulduggery punched and kicked, using the staff with both hands. The knife he had used lay on the floor. Valkyrie crouched and picked it up, determined not to be left entirely defenceless.

Thump. Thud. Thump. Each time the staff crashed into one of the creatures, the sound was the same. A dull thud, no matter what part of the body it hit. What _were_ they?

Skulduggery drove one of the narrow ends of the staff into one of their attackers just as it was reaching out to punch Valkyrie. It went right through it.

"Oh bloody…" Skulduggery muttered, trying to wrench the staff out of the creature. It bent, but didn't break. It didn't come loose either.

Valkyrie drew on her last reserves of strength and stabbed at the creature with her knife, aiming at the spot right next to the staff. It was enough to free the weapon, and the fighting went on again. Thump. Thump. Thud. Slash. It felt like clay; soft and pliant, yet completely solid.

Skulduggery drove his elbow into the blank approximation of a face of one of the creatures, and it fell. At least that was one good thing about them – once they fell, they didn't get up.

She touched her ring again, wondering if she dared to use it once more. She knew that the effort could drain her completely, but there were two more clay men left and even Skulduggery was slowing down. His clothes were in tatters and his left glove had come off. Valkyrie couldn't be certain but she thought she'd got a glimpse of only three pale bony fingers.

Death flew eagerly into the ring, fuelling it. She reached out her hand and let the shadows fly. They were weaker this time, less defined, but she didn't need to unleash the whole power. At least she hoped it would be enough.

The shadows took down one of the remaining creatures. Skulduggery was punching and kicking the other one, trying to keep its hands off him. And at last, the final clay man fell, too.

Valkyrie stumbled again, and sank down on the floor. Her legs wouldn't support her any longer. Skulduggery stood still next to her, holding up his left hand. This time it was obvious: the little finger was missing. He sighed and started searching the floor.

Something small and light caught Valkyrie's eye, a bit further away. "Over there," she pointed. There were a few tiny bones scattered around, one still in the grasp of one of the fallen clay men.

"Thanks." Skulduggery walked over and picked up the pieces. He stuffed them into a pocket. "I think it's time for us to go," he said. "I'll take Tanith. Can you walk?"

Valkyrie struggled to get back up on her feet. She was still very weak, but she'd manage. They didn't have a long way to go – once outside, they'd be safe.

Nye, still crouching in the corner, giggled.

"Nice try, Detective. I don't think so, though." It clicked its fingers, and the now familiar shuffle of heavy, solid feet started again.

Except that this time, there were more of them.

* * *

"Fuck." Valkyrie didn't swear often, at least not in Skulduggery's presence, but he couldn't really blame her. It did look rather bad. Still, this time they weren't caught by surprise, and Skulduggery had one last trick in his pocket that Valkyrie didn't know about.

"Run!" he whispered urgently, not wanting Nye to give the attack order just yet. "I'll be right behind you with Tanith. Just get outside as fast as you can. On my count… one, two… NOW!"

Valkyrie pushed past him and ran, heading straight to a third door. Skulduggery could only hope that there weren't any other nasty surprises lurking behind it. It was the one closest to the outside world – if he was right, Nye's creatures would prefer to stay away from there.

He grabbed Tanith, flung her over his shoulder and ran after Valkyrie. The creatures stumped behind him, surprisingly agile for their bulky bodies. Once he was through the door, he put Tanith down, noticing from the corner of his eye that Valkyrie had stopped in the middle of the room, leaning heavily on a chair to keep herself from falling over. "Can't…" she said. "Too tired. Just need a moment."

Skulduggery didn't waste any more time. "Get down," he said, his voice low but urgent. "Down on the floor, now!"

He took out his final weapon, pulled off the pin and lobbed it inside the room they'd just left. Shielding his eye sockets with his arm, he jumped back, but it was not enough. The grenade exploded immediately upon impact and he was thrown back through the room.

* * *

Everything happened so fast that Valkyrie's mind had trouble to keep up. There'd been an explosion – her ears were still ringing – and Skulduggery was lying on top of her. She'd barely registered how perfectly his thin body moulded into hers, when Skulduggery was already on his feet again, dragging her up as well.

"Stun grenade, with a bit of extra kick," he explained. "Not sure if it works on those things, though. I might only have bought us a minute. I'd rather not hang around and wait. Let's get out of here."

He picked Tanith up and headed towards the door. Valkyrie stumbled after them, still disoriented from the noise and the light and everything that had happened, but the sight of the opened door gave her new strength. Unless Nye had done some serious remodelling since her last visit, that was the door that led to safety.

* * *

The air was fresh. It was dark, but there were stars sprinkled in the sky, and a there was a gentle breeze. A perfect, warm late July night.

Valkyrie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was alive. They'd made it. They'd got out of the warehouse. Away from Nye and its army.

Skulduggery was further ahead, carrying Tanith towards a large tree. He put her down gently and crouched down next to her. Valkyrie caught up with them in a few steps.

"How is she?"

Skulduggery stood up again. "She is alive. Barely – her pulse is very weak. But that's to be expected. She'll need to get to the Sanctuary as quickly as possible, though. Would Fletcher know this place if you told him to come straight here?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Right. Give him a ring and tell him to get to Ghastly's." He took out his phone. "Ghastly? We're done. As soon as Fletcher gets there, come and pick us up. Tanith needs medical help. Yes, I'll tell you where we are. You know the road to…"

Valkyrie made a quick phone call and explained the situation to Fletcher. When she was finished, she walked over to the tree and sat down next to Tanith. The grass was cool and still moist with the evening dew but it didn't matter. She patted Tanith on the shoulder awkwardly. "You're going to be fine," she whispered. "The Remnant is gone. When you wake up again, you'll be back to good old Tanith."

Skulduggery joined them. He crouched down again and unfastened Tanith's shackles.

"How are you?" he asked, looking at Valkyrie.

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Glad to be alive again. But we did it, didn't we? Save Tanith?"

"We did indeed. It wasn't a bad plan, all things considered."

Valkyrie gave him a lopsided smile. "Even if nothing really worked as I expected."

"Well, we were dealing with something we didn't know anything about. It still worked out in the end."

"I guess so… Speaking about things we didn't know about – what _were_ these creatures? Clay men?"

"I don't really know. Some sort of homunculi."

"Homun-what?"

"Um… People-things, sort of. Different process than Hollow Men, obviously, but same purpose. I was thinking they might have been golems, but I've never heard of golems in Ireland before."

"Golems?"

"Clay men. I don't think they were clay, though. Probably earth, with some clay mixed in, and possibly some bits Nye had appropriated from his previous, uh, specimens. I'm quite sure at least one of them had some bones in his arm and hand."

"Eww."

"Indeed."

"Why did shooting them work so well?"

Skulduggery shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe they were allergic to bullets."

He sat down on the ground next to Valkyrie. She leaned awkwardly into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. He smelled of gunpowder and death and adventure.

"When will Ghastly and Fletcher get here?"

"Twenty minutes, give or take a few, I'd expect. One of us should probably go with Fletcher and Tanith, explain the situation in the Sanctuary. They have good doctors there."

 _And if Tanith wakes up, it would be good to have one of us there to keep an eye on her. Just in case she does remember. About me._ The words hung between them, unspoken.

"And one of us has to tell Ghastly the truth now," she said. "I suppose I should do it."

Skulduggery put his arm tentatively around her, letting her snuggle closer. "I can do that, if you'd prefer to go with Fletcher and Tanith. Don't worry about Ghastly. Once Tanith wakes up, he won't have time to be angry with us anyway."

"He won't forget, though. And he is an Elder."

"He's also my oldest friend. But yes, he won't forget. Still, as long as you are you, Valkyrie Cain, we don't have anything to worry about. Not from Ghastly."

"Good."

They sat in silence for a while. Valkyrie was close to nodding off, when she heard a car in the distance. Skulduggery let go of her and stood, activating his façade as he walked closer to the road. Valkyrie noticed he kept his left, gloveless hand in his pocket.

* * *

The van pulled up next to them. Fletcher jumped out first, followed by Ghastly who headed straight to Tanith, kneeling down next to her.

"You look terrible!" Fletcher exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd gone off fighting."

"When do we ever not end up fighting?" Valkyrie asked with a tired grin. "I'm fine. Just tired. No broken bones or anything."

She gave Fletcher a quick kiss. "I'll come with you and Tanith, explain the Sanctuary people what's wrong with her. I think she just needs to recover, but the doctors there will know best."

Fletched nodded. "Ghastly rang the Sanctuary when we were on our way, so they'll know to expect us. Come on, then!"

He walked over to Tanith and took hold of her arm. "She'll be in good hands in a moment," he said to Ghastly. "Don't worry!" He wrapped his other arm around Valkyrie and in a flash, they were off.

* * *

"I know this place," Ghastly said. "I've heard of it."

Skulduggery said nothing.

"Thank you. I know the risk you took. Both of you."

"It was Valkyrie's idea. She's the one you need to thank."

"Probably," Ghastly conceded. "But you went with her. I suppose I understand now why you didn't want me to come with you, even if by the looks of you, you could have used the help."

Skulduggery gave a light shrug. "We managed. Although it would have been easier with you around, that's true. Are we going now or will we just stay here and chat?"

"I suppose we can talk in the car. I want to head to the Sanctuary, too."

"Of course. I can pick up the Bentley tomorrow."

They got into the van and Ghastly drove off. They were quiet for a few minutes, until Ghastly spoke again.

"So, Valkyrie is Darquesse."

"That she is."

"How long have you known?"

"Since Christmas. She found out last year but only told me once she'd got her name sealed."

"That explains why she knew about this place."

"I was furious when I found out. Not because— Not because of what, or who, she is, but because she didn't tell me. Didn't trust me enough."

"I know the feeling."

Skulduggery tilted his head. "Touché."

"So… What are you going to do about it? Or rather, what is she going to do about it?"

"Nothing. We'll just keep an eye on it, see how things develop. Now that she knows, we're both rather hoping that she'll make the future change."

"I hope so. I really do."

* * *

Tanith opened her eyes. She looked around curiously. The room was white. White walls, white ceiling, white curtains around her bed. A hospital, she realised.

She reached out, marvelling at the way her arm moved, and drew one of the curtains aside.

"Tanith!" Valkyrie rushed to the bed. "It's… it's really you, isn't it?"

Tanith tried to raise her head, but it felt too heavy, so she leaned back on the pillows. "Of course it's me, Val. What happened? Did we win?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Valkyrie asked.

"The Remnants… They'd taken over all these people, and we were in the Hibernian. Oh – is this where I am? Where is Kenspeckle?"

Valkyrie looked oddly hesitant. "A lot has happened since then, Tanith. That was seven months ago."

"Seven— Have I been here all this time?"

"No. Just for the last two weeks, since we… Oh, never mind that now. There's someone outside who will want to hear the news. We've taken turns watching you; it was my turn now. We'll tell you everything later."

She went to the door and pushed it open. "Ghastly? Tanith's awake."

Tanith grinned at the warm feeling Val's words had given her. She remembered Ghastly, and how they had finally stopped dancing around each other and…

Ghastly hurried in, with Valkyrie trailing after him. She looked from Ghastly to Tanith and back to Ghastly again. "I think I'll leave the two of you alone for a few minutes," she said. "Tanith… I'm so glad you're back. _So_ glad."

Tanith smiled. She wanted to hear about everything she'd missed. "Me too, Val. Me too."

The End.


End file.
